Tectonic lakes. What is a tectonic lake

They are formed in places of faults and shifts of the earth's crust. As a rule, these are deep narrow reservoirs with straight sheer banks, located in deep through gorges. Kurile Lake is located in the south of Kamchatka in a deep picturesque basin surrounded by mountains. The greatest depth of the lake is 306 m. Its banks are steep. Numerous mountain streams flow from them. The lake is sewage, the Ozernaya River originates from it. Hot springs come to the surface along the shores of the lake, and in its middle there is an island called the Heart-stone. Not far from the lake there is a unique outcrop of pumice stones, which are called Kutkhin Baty. Currently, the lake has been declared a nature reserve and a zoological monument of nature.

bottom profile tectonic lakes sharply defined, has the form of a broken curve. Glacial deposits and sediment accumulation processes have little changed the clarity of the tectonic lines of the lake basin. The influence of the glacier on the formation of the basin can be noticeable, it leaves traces of its stay in the form of scars, sheep's foreheads, which are clearly visible on the rocky shores and islands. The shores of the lakes are composed mainly of hard stone rocks that are weakly susceptible to erosion, which is one of the reasons for the weak process of sedimentation. These lakes belong to the group of lakes of normal depth (a=2-4) and deep (a=4-10). The deep-water zone (more than 10 m) of the total volume of the lake is 60-70%, shallow water (0-5m) 15-20%. The waters of the lakes are thermally heterogeneous: during the period of the greatest warming surface water low bottom temperatures are maintained, which is facilitated by stable thermal stratification. Aquatic vegetation is rare, only in a narrow strip along the shores of closed bays. Typical lakes in the river basin. The suns are large and medium-sized: Palye, Sundozero, Sandal, as well as very small lakes Salvilambi and Randozero, located on private watersheds of lakes Palye and Sandal.

As a result of the movement of the earth's crust, depressions form in some places over time. It is in these depressions that tectonic lakes arise. Three most large lakes Kyrgyzstan: Issyk-Kul, Son-Kul and Chatyr-Kul are formed by tectonic way.

There are many lakes in the forest-steppe Trans-Urals. Here are such large reservoirs as Uelgi, Shablish, Argayash, B. Kuyash, Kaldy, Sugoyak, Tishki, etc. The depths of the lakes on the Trans-Ural Plain noticeably decrease and do not exceed 8-10 m. By origin, these lakes belong to the erosion-tectonic type. Tectonic depressions were modified as a result of the impact of erosion processes. Many lakes of the Trans-Urals are confined to ancient hollows of river flow (Etkul, Peschanoe, Alakul, Kamyshnoe, etc.).

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Hello dear readers! Now I will tell you about what lakes are and about their main types.

- these are natural reservoirs in the depressions of the land (hollows), filled within the lake bowl (lake bed) with a heterogeneous water mass.

Lack of direct connection with the World characteristic of lakes. The area occupied by the lakes is about 2.1 million km 2 or almost 1.4% of the land area, which is almost seven times the surface of the largest lake in the world - the Caspian Sea (424,300 km 2).

Lakes are unevenly distributed: in the north there are especially many of them - in the forest zone and tundra, less often lakes are found in the south, in the desert and in the steppe.

Lake types.

Lakes can have different origins. Geographers classify lakes according to the presence of life, the content of salts, and the way they are formed. There is no life only in the most salty lakes. Most of the lakes were formed as a result of volcanic eruptions or movements.

Also, lakes can form in depressions that have arisen as a result of the uneven distribution of glaciers in areas of continental icing. (moraine and glacial lakes); when ice melts in subsidence dips (thermokarst lakes); in castrate abysses and funnels (fire lakes); in valleys blocked by collapse, glacier or displacement (volcanic lakes of Java, Kuril Islands etc.), by applying a mule or sand (estuary lakes of the Crimean Peninsula).

Many lakes were created by people. These lakes are called reservoirs, since they contain a reserve of water for hydroelectric power stations and other economic needs.

Let us consider in more detail the main types of lakes:

Tectonic lakes. These lakes are the most interesting. They occur in places of tectonic faults, as a rule, they are very deep and have an elongated shape.

The deepest lake in the world is Baikal (max. depth - 1620 m, average - 730 m), tectonic in origin. It arose as a result of a break in the block of the earth's crust, as a result of which a depression filled with water appeared.

Due to the formation of the water mass of lakes. Sometimes sea ​​water, which in the geological past filled the basin, is replaced by fresh water. These are the so-called relic lakes, including Onega, Lake Ladoga and the Aral with the Caspian Seas.

The reasons for the formation of the Caspian Sea (the largest lake on Earth) are faults and folds, due to the movement of the earth's crust.

In the depression between the Mangyshlak plateau in the East and Caucasus mountains in the West, the Caspian Sea is located. Its dimensions have been constantly changing over the past few million years.

The Caspian Sea connected with the Black Sea before the Caucasus Range rose.

Another example of a huge fault is the East African Rift System. It is filled with a chain of lakes and extends from Southeast Africa to the North to Southwest Africa. The most famous of the lakes of this system are Nyasa (Malawi), Albert, Tanganyika, Edward.

On the territory of Israel, but the same system belongs to the lowest-lying lake in the world - the Dead Sea (-399 m, below sea level).

Lakes can also sewage(from them flow, or their flow may be underground) and drainless(they do not have drains, they are mainly located in deserts and semi-deserts).

The endorheic Lake Chany is very interesting, it is prone to abrupt changes in boundaries, depending on fluctuations in annual or seasonal rainfall. Nomadic lakes include: Chad, Lop Nor and Eyre.

The hydrological and thermal regimes of lakes are not as pronounced as those of rivers, due to the large volume of water.

During the period of floods and floods, there are no such impressive rises of water on the lakes, and freezing and ice drift occur more slowly than in rivers. But there are lakes strong winds, including seiches.

freshwater lakes they feed on rainwater, streams and rivers, but minerals and soils that are washed off the banks gradually accumulate with a limited supply of fresh water. The fresh water evaporates and the mineral-rich brine remains in the lake.

Salt lakes. More-less, endorheic lakes mineralized, they accumulate salts (from 1 to 24.7% - brackish lakes, and from 24.7 to 47% - salty), which are located even in fresh water their tributaries.

There are also mineral lakes (they contain more than 47% of salts), including flowing ones, they are formed due to the flow of mineralized waters from the depths of the Earth. Salts from them may precipitate.

in the Aral Sea and Caspian Sea are salt lakes. The Aral Sea was the fourth largest lake in the world, but after the channels of the rivers replenishing it were changed, it began to dry up.

The area of ​​the sea has decreased from 77,451 km 2 to 40,000 km 2, and this gives reason to talk about the gradual death of the lake.

The Dead Sea is the saltiest lake. It is located in the Jordan Valley between Jordan and Israel. Its water is 9 times saltier than ocean water. As a result of this, the density of water is so high that on its surface you can lie quietly, as if on a bed, and read a newspaper.

Volcanic lakes. A water-filled volcanic crater is the most common form of volcanic lake.

Crater Lake in Mazama Volcano Crater, Oregon () – one example of this type of lake. This lake has a diameter of 10 km and a depth of 598 m, and was formed 6600 years ago.

Some lakes were formed when lava flows blocked volcanic valleys and water accumulated in them. Lake Kivu is such an example, a depression in the East African Rift System on the border between Rwanda and Zaire.

Once flowing from Lake Tanganyika, the Ruzizi River flowed through the Kivu Valley north to the Nile, but after a nearby volcano erupted, which blocked the river's course, its waters filled the depression.

In the northern hemisphere, the most common lakes were created by glaciers during the last ice age. This is how the lakes were formed Italian Alps, about 60,000 Finnish lakes and most British lakes.

Glaciers left behind deep depressions in which accumulated warm water. Moraine (glacial deposits) dammed depressions, forming lakes. An example is the reservoirs of the Lake District in the North of England.

Lakes can also form underground, in limestone voids. Water dissolves limestone, creating water-filled huge caves. Similar lakes can form in areas of underground salt deposits.

artificial lakes. The most famous example of artificial lakes are reservoirs. Among the largest are Lake Mead in the USA, which appeared after the damming of the Colorado River, and Lake Nasser on the border of Sudan and Egypt, which was created by damming the Nile Valley.

All of them serve hydroelectric power stations. Also, many artificial lakes exist for industrial use and to provide water to large settlements. Another example of artificial lakes is decorative small lakes created in parks or just at home in the yard.

Such lakes serve as a decoration, an outdoor aquarium for fish and just a place for birds to take a bath 🙂

These were the main types of lakes, I hope this information will be useful to you 🙂

The largest lakes in the world

* Unstable area

Tectonic lakes are formed in places of faults and shifts of the earth's crust. As a rule, these are deep narrow reservoirs with straight steep banks, located in deep through gorges. The bottom of such lakes located in Kamchatka is below the ocean level. Tectonic lakes include Dalnee and Kuril. Kurile Lake is located in the south of Kamchatka in a deep picturesque basin surrounded by mountains. The greatest depth of the lake is 306 m. Its banks are steep. Numerous mountain streams flow from them. The lake is sewage, the Ozernaya River originates from it. Hot springs come to the surface along the shores of the lake.

Tectonic depressions result from movements of the earth's crust, and many lake basins tectonic origin have large area And ancient age. They occupy depressions resulting from tectonic movements of the earth's crust: faults, normal faults, grabens, intermountain and flat troughs. As a rule, they are very deep, some tectonic lakes are superior to the sea. It is not by chance that the Caspian and Aral lakes are called seas. Caspian lake 4 times more than White, almost 3 times more than Adriatic and 2 times - Aegean Seas. And the most deep lakes world - Baikal and Tanganyika - much deeper than our northern seas- Barents, Kara, East Siberian and others.

Tectonic processes manifest themselves in different ways. For example, the Caspian Sea is confined to a deflection at the bottom ancient sea Tethys. In the Neogene, an uplift occurred, as a result of which the Caspian depression became isolated. Its waters gradually desalinated under the influence of atmospheric precipitation and river runoff. The basin of the lake Victoria in East Africa formed as a result of the uplift of the surrounding land. big Salt Lake in Utah, too, arose due to the tectonic uplift of the territory through which the runoff from the lake was previously carried out. Tectonic activity often leads to the formation of faults (cracks in the earth's crust), which can turn into lake basins if a reverse fault occurs in the area or if a block enclosed between faults sinks. In the latter case, the lacustrine basin is said to be associated with a graben. Several lakes within the East African Rift System have this origin. Among them - lake. Tanganyika, which was formed about 17 million years ago and is very deep (1470 m). On the continuation of this system to the north are the Dead Sea and Lake Tiberias. Both are very ancient. Max Depth Lake Tiberias is currently only 46 m. ​​Lakes Tahoe on the border of the states of California and Nevada in the USA, Biwa (the source of freshwater pearls) in Japan and Lake Baikal are also confined to the grabens. The profile of the bottom of tectonic lakes is sharply defined and has the form of a broken curve. Glacial deposits and processes of sediment accumulation have little changed the clarity of the tectonic lines of the lake basin. The influence of the glacier on the formation of the basin can be noticeable, it leaves traces of its presence in the form of scars, sheep's foreheads, which are clearly visible on the rocky shores and islands. The shores of the lakes are composed mainly of hard stone rocks that are weakly susceptible to erosion, which is one of the reasons for the weak process of sedimentation. The waters of the lakes are thermally heterogeneous: during the period of the greatest heating of surface waters, low bottom temperatures remain, which is facilitated by stable thermal stratification. Aquatic vegetation is rare, only in a narrow strip along the shores of closed bays. As a result of the movement of the earth's crust, depressions form in some places over time. It is in these depressions that tectonic lakes arise. The three largest lakes in Kyrgyzstan: Issyk-Kul, Son-Kul and Chatyr-Kul were formed tectonically.

The lake is a river with a slow water exchange. Lakes are the subject of science research limnology.

Systematization of lakes

Lakes are classified according to different criteria:

How old are individual lakes?

In most cases - a few thousand or 10 thousand years. This applies primarily to glacial and oxbow lakes. It is believed that karst, volcanic and separately tectonic lakes can exist for millions and tens of millions of years. For example, the age of one of the lakes in Australia is estimated at approximately 700 million years.

How many lakes are on earth?

A clear estimate has not yet been made. Hydrologists believe that there are about 5 million lakes on the earth. About 2 million lakes are located in Canada and Alaska, about 100 thousand - in Finland and on Scandinavian Peninsula, about 100 thousand - in England and Ireland, as well as Denmark, Belgium, Holland and France.

Tectonic lakes

As a result of the movement of the earth's crust in some places, depressions form over time. Tectonic lakes appear in these hollows. Faults and folds of the movement of the earth's crust - the reason for the formation Caspian Sea, largest lake on the ground, And Baikal in Siberia, the deepest of the lakes. Before the rise Caucasian ridge The Caspian Sea was connected to the Black Sea. And Lake Baikal appeared as a result of a break in the block of the earth's crust, as a result of which a depression appeared, filled with water.

The East African Rift System is another example of a large fault. It extends from the southeast of Africa to the north, to southwest Asia, and is filled with a chain of lakes. The most famous of them - Albert, Edward, Tanganyika And Nyasa(Malawi). The same system (on the territory of Israel) belongs to the lowest-lying lake in the world - Dead Sea(-399 m).

Most often, tectonic lakes are the deepest narrow reservoirs with straight vertical banks, located in the deepest through gorges. The bottom of such lakes located in Kamchatka is below the ocean level. Tectonic lakes include Dalekoe and Kuril. Kurile lake located in the south of Kamchatka in the deepest colorful basin surrounded by mountains. Great depth lakes - 306 m. Its banks are steep. Countless mountain streams flow from them. The lake is sewage, the Ozernaya River originates from it. Hot springs come to the surface along the shores of the lake, and in its middle there is an island called the Heart-Stone. Not far from the lake there is a unique outcrop of pumice stones, which are called Kutkhin Baty. At present, the lake has been declared a nature reserve and a zoological monument of nature.

Profile of the bottom of tectonic lakes sharply defined, has the form of a broken curve. Glacial deposits and sediment accumulation processes have not sufficiently changed the clarity of the tectonic lines of the lake basin. The impact of the glacier on the formation of the basin can be noticeable, it leaves traces of its own presence in the form of scars, sheep's foreheads, which are perfectly noticeable on rocky shores and islands. The shores of the lakes are composed mainly of hard stone rocks that are weakly eroded, which is one of the reasons for the weak sedimentation process. These lakes belong to the group of lakes of ordinary depth (a=2-4) and the deepest (a=4-10). The deep-water zone (more than 10 m) of the total volume of the lake is 60-70%, shallow water (0-5m) 15-20%.

The waters of the lakes are thermally heterogeneous: during the period of greater warming of surface waters, low bottom temperatures remain, which is facilitated by stable thermal stratification. Aqua vegetation is rare, only in a narrow strip along the shores of closed bays. Ordinary lakes in the river basin. The Suns are huge and medium-sized: Palye, Sundozero, Sandal, as well as very small lakes Salvilambi and Randozero, located on the personal watersheds of lakes Palye and Sandal.

Three most large lakes Kyrgyzstan: Issyk-Kul, Son-Kul and Chatyr-Kul are formed by tectonic way.

There are many lakes in the forest-steppe Trans-Urals. There are large bodies of water here. Welgi, Shablish, Argayash, B. Kuyash, Kaldy, Sugoyak, Tishki and others. The depths of the lakes on the Trans-Ural Plain noticeably decrease and do not exceed 8-10 m. By origin, these lakes belong to the erosion-tectonic type (tectonic depressions were modified as a result of the impact of erosion processes).

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1.2 Tectonic lakes

Tectonic lakes are formed in places of faults and shifts of the earth's crust. As a rule, these are deep narrow reservoirs with straight steep banks, located in deep through gorges. The bottom of such lakes located in Kamchatka is below the ocean level. Tectonic lakes include Dalnee and Kuril. Kurile Lake is located in the south of Kamchatka in a deep picturesque basin surrounded by mountains. The greatest depth of the lake is 306 m. Its banks are steep. Numerous mountain streams flow from them. The lake is sewage, the Ozernaya River originates from it. Hot springs come to the surface along the shores of the lake.

Tectonic depressions arise as a result of movements of the earth's crust, and many lake basins of tectonic origin are large and ancient. They occupy depressions resulting from tectonic movements of the earth's crust: faults, normal faults, grabens, intermountain and flat troughs. As a rule, they are very deep, some tectonic lakes are superior to the sea. It is not by chance that the Caspian and Aral lakes are called seas. The Caspian lake is 4 times larger than the White, almost 3 times the Adriatic and 2 times the Aegean. And the deepest lakes in the world - Baikal and Tanganyika - are much deeper than our northern seas - the Barents, Kara, East Siberian and others.

Tectonic processes manifest themselves in different ways. For example, the Caspian Sea is confined to a trough at the bottom of the ancient Tethys Sea. In the Neogene, an uplift occurred, as a result of which the Caspian depression became isolated. Its waters gradually desalinated under the influence of atmospheric precipitation and river runoff. The basin of the lake Victoria in East Africa was formed by the uplift of the surrounding land. The Great Salt Lake in Utah also arose due to the tectonic uplift of the area through which the flow from the lake was previously carried out. Tectonic activity often leads to the formation of faults (cracks in the earth's crust), which can turn into lake basins if a reverse fault occurs in the area or if a block enclosed between faults sinks. In the latter case, the lacustrine basin is said to be associated with a graben. Several lakes within the East African Rift System have this origin. Among them - lake. Tanganyika, which was formed about 17 million years ago and is very deep (1470 m). On the continuation of this system to the north are the Dead Sea and Lake Tiberias. Both are very ancient. The maximum depth of Lake Tiberias is currently only 46 m. ​​Lakes Tahoe on the border of the states of California and Nevada in the USA, Biwa (the source of freshwater pearls) in Japan and Lake Baikal are also associated with grabens. The profile of the bottom of tectonic lakes is sharply defined and has the form of a broken curve. Glacial deposits and sediment accumulation processes have little changed the clarity of the tectonic lines of the lake basin. The influence of the glacier on the formation of the basin can be noticeable, it leaves traces of its stay in the form of scars, sheep's foreheads, which are clearly visible on the rocky shores and islands. The shores of the lakes are composed mainly of hard stone rocks that are weakly susceptible to erosion, which is one of the reasons for the weak process of sedimentation. The waters of the lakes are thermally heterogeneous: during the period of the greatest heating of surface waters, low bottom temperatures remain, which is facilitated by stable thermal stratification. Aquatic vegetation is rare, only in a narrow strip along the shores of closed bays. As a result of the movement of the earth's crust, depressions form in some places over time. It is in these depressions that tectonic lakes arise. The three largest lakes in Kyrgyzstan: Issyk-Kul, Son-Kul and Chatyr-Kul were formed tectonically.

1.3 Volcanic lakes

The term "volcanic lake" appeared in the volcanological literature not so long ago. Over the past 15 - 20 years large group researchers use it quite widely, putting the following meaning into the term: A volcanic lake is a reservoir that occupies part of a negative volcanic relief (volcanic crater, maar, explosion funnel, caldera, part of a valley blocked by a lava flow), in which, to one degree or another, they have the place of receipt of endogenous (from the bowels of the earth) energy and matter.

The share of this input can be reduced to a minimum at the moment (for example, cold lakes in maars), but in such lakes water interacts with igneous rocks, which undoubtedly affects their composition. In addition, there is always the possibility of the resumption of frozen volcanic processes.

Volcanic lakes are an integral part of volcanic processes and the landscape. The main distinguishing feature of such lakes is the presence in the balance of energy and matter of water bodies of a source from the depths of the Earth (often very powerful), which can significantly affect the hydrodynamic and hydrochemical processes in the lake. The volcanic lake is like a window through which you can "look" into the depths.

Especially often volcanic lakes are found in the famous Pacific volcanic ring, which includes volcanoes of Kamchatka, the Kuril and Japanese islands, Malay Archipelago, Philippines, New Zealand, Andes, Cordillera, Alaska, Iceland. On Japanese islands almost half of the lakes volcanic origin. Volcanic lakes can be found in Europe, Africa, Australia and even Antarctica. Here, about 3 km from the Soviet Antarctic station Bellingshausen, there is a young volcanic crater filled with the waters of Lake Glubokoe.

Volcanic lakes often have diverse flora and fauna, which actively participate in the biogeochemical cycle of matter. Due to this, various bottom sediments are formed, which have different sources of formation. Often in volcanic lakes find layers of ash brought from other volcanoes. In the bottom sediments of lakes, many chemical elements accumulate, and highly mineralized waters are often liquid ore.

The presence of large volumes of water in the crater of the volcano creates a danger during eruptions, which are accompanied by the release of a huge amount of stones and dirt, as well as the formation of powerful lahars (hot mudflows from a volcanic structure). All this is extremely dangerous for the population living near such volcanoes. Widely known crater lake volcano Kelud on the island of Java. The Kelud volcano itself is low - a little more than 1730 m, its top is destroyed and is a crater filled with a lake. During a volcanic eruption, this lake boiled and splashed more than once. From the end of the 18th century to the beginning of the 20th century, this happened 10 times. At the same time, flows hot water and dirt flowed down, destroying everything in its path. In 1919 As a result of such a catastrophe, more than 100 villages were destroyed in a few moments and more than 5 thousand people died. Now the level of the lake with the help of tunnels has been lowered to 50 m.

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